Box construction



L. SOFO BOX CONSTRUCTION April 25, 1950 Filed Aug. s, 194e:

Patented Apr. 25, 1950 BOX CONSTRUCTION Leonard Sofo, Chicago, Ill.,assignor to Plasticrest Products Inc., Chicago, Ill., a corporation ofIllinois Application August 9, 1948, Serial No. 43,171

3 Claims. (Cl. 220-38) This invention relates to a novel boxconstruction and more particularly to a display box in which the covermay be slid down the back of the box and thereby hidden from sight.

Although the novel construction of the present invention may be used forboxes, cases, crates or the like of all sizes, it is particularlyapplicable to boxes or cases used to display jewelry including rings,watches, necklaces, bracelets, ear rings, bronches, belt buckles, tieclasps, cuff links, etc. As it is customary for jewelers to displaytheir merchandise on rows of shelves in windows and show cases, a majorobjection to the presently used boxes is that the covers of the boxes onone row of shelves block the display of jewelry on the adjacent back rowof shelves. To overcome this objection, it has been necessary forjewelers to use less rows of shelves with further distance between themor to stagger the boxes, both of which cut down on the amount of jewelrywhich may be displayed in a given space. The novel box constructionofthe present invention eliminates the objection heretofore set forthwithout reducing the available display space.

The novel box of the present invention is constructed of three piecescomprising a body, a skirt or apron and a cover. The back part of thebody is slotted and is provided with runners or railings on the insideof the back parallel to the slot. The cover is provided with a pin orwire which rides along the runners and thereby permits sliding the coverdown the back of the body and out of sight. As hereinbefore set forth,this arrangement removes the cover from sight and-permits the display ofa greater quantity of merchandise in a given space. The skirt or apronserves both as an inside cover to prevent the outside cover frombecoming disengaged and also as a skirt or shield to improve theappearance of the box. It is within the scope of the invention, whendesired, to construct the skirt as a at piece to serve solely to holdthe outside cover and padding in place.

As a particular feature of the present invention, the pin in ridingalong the runners is under tension and thereby serves to hold the coverin any desired position at the back of the box. The pin is also underextra tension when the box is being closed and thereby will snap shut,and also is` under tension in the closed position which serves to keepthe cover tight against the body of the ybox and thereby prevents thejewelry from falling out of the box when it is being withdrawn from thewindow or show case or when the box is otherwise being moved from oneplace to another.

When opening the cover and thus overcoming the extra tension, the coverwill snap open and this further facilitates use of the display box.

As another particular feature of the present invention, construction ofthe display box in three pieces oliers the important advantage offacilitating installation of the padding into which the ring is insertedor on which other jewelry rests. The shield or apron hides the raw edgesof the padding and thereby eliminates the necessity of resorting tocomplicated and expensive means to avoid the protruding of the raw edgesas required in the display boxes heretofore used. Further, the paddingis readily reinforced by cardboard, plastic or the like and need not beglued or cemented into the box, as it will be securely held in place bythe cover portion of the skirt. As Will be hereinafter described indetail, protuberances are provided on the inside of the body to coincidewith the particular shape of the reinforcement to thereby hold thepadding firmly in position.

The novelty and utility of the present invention will be explainedfurther in describing the accompanying drawings which illustrate onespecic embodiment of the invention.

Figure 1 is a front view of the novel box construction. In this view,the cover is illustrated in a lowered position by the full lines and ina raised position by the dotted lines. Figure 2 is a section taken alonglines 2-2 of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a back view with the cover in araised position. Figures 4, 5 and 6 illustrate the cover, body andshield respectively.

As hereinbefore set forth the drawings illustrate one specificembodiment of the invention which comprises a Marquis style box for usein displaying rings. It is understood that the novel construction of thepresent invention may be used in boxes of other shapes, includingsquare, rectangular, triangular, round, oval, etc., and combinationsthereof. The box may be made of any suitable material including plastic,wood, metal, etc., or combinations thereof.

Referring to Figure 1 of the drawings, numeral l represents the coverwhich is illustrated in a raised position by the dotted lines and in alowered position by the full lines. Figure 4 of the drawings furtherillustrate the cover. It will be noted that the cover is beveledinwardly as illustrated at 2 and thus provides ample clearance for thering or other jewelry in the box when the cover is closed. Usuallycloth, felt or other padding is inserted inside the cover'to protect thejewelry and also to improve the appearance of the box. In the case hereillustrated, pin 3 is held in place by screw 4. It is understood thatpin 3 may be round, flat, square or any other suitable design, includinga flat piece with curved ends. Upraised member contains a groove intowhich pin 3 is inserted and is held in place by screw The clearancebetween the pin and the inside of the cover is designed so that the endsof the pin will be bent in riding the rails and the4 pin thereby will beunder tension. Thus, this.

clearance will be less than the combined thickness of the body portionand railing. It is understood that any other suitable method of holdingpinV 3 to,

the cover may be employed, such as providing a hole in raised member 5through which pin. 3v

may be inserted.

Referring again to Figure 1, numeral 6 represents the skirt or apronwhich also is: illustrated in Figure 6. It will be noted that the skirtcomprises an outwardly beveled bottom portion 'i and a fiat topiS. Theflat top is positioned.v at. anangle to` coincide with thev angle of thebody of the boxl in order tov provide. a close nt therewith, therebyserving as, a. rim or.l inside cover for the box. rihe iiat top 8; isprovided with slot 9which is sized to receive raised member 5 of-v thecover.

Inthe front View of Figure l, the body of the box is` not shownbut isillustrated in Figure. 5 and also in Figures. 2 and 3. Referring. toFig.- ure'V 5*, it will" be noted that body Il! comprises a boat' shapedmem-ber having front. I/I, angularv sides l2A and back I3. Back i3; isprovidedy with slot M coincides with slot SIl in skirt 5. slot ill visslightly larger. in width than raised member 5 oncover I. On the. insideof back I-3l, runners or railings I5 are provided. These railingsextend. parallel' to. slot. i4. and', because the railings are raised`members, pin 3 isunder tension and therefore will hold the cover-inplace in' any position at the back of the box. The upper portion of backI3 is curved inwardly, as illustrated at i5, to provide a turning pointvfoirelos-ing cover Ii. In assembling the box, raised member 5'- isinserted in slot it@ andpin 3 ridesron railings I5. After the padding isinserted in the body, skirt- 6- isglued, cemented or otherwise'.attachedv to body til and thereby' serves to; hold the padding in placeand to prevent the cover from' separating from the body, as well as toprovide the balance of the turning point for closing the cover. Theinside top portion of the skirt contains raised members, similar to butYshorter than railings i5, on both sides of slot 9 so: that. pini 3 isalso under tension when the cover isin a, closed position to therebyhold the cover tight` against the body.

Slot. Ul is provided withr indentedY portion, I1 which may. be. of anydesired shape and is provided to remove. or insert the cover after thebox has b eenY assembled. This is accomplished by twisting. the cover 90at a point adjacent indented portion I'l which provides clearance forturningraised member 5. and thereby to swiner the cover away from thebody.

The reinforcement for the padding rests against raised portions I3 whichextend further thanrailings I5 and thereby provide ample clearanceforthe pin to ride railings I5. The reinforcementk also serves toimprove the appearance of the rear view of the box by blocking visioninto. the inside of the box through slot i4. The remaining raisedportions indicated at I9 are provided as guides tohold the padding inposition and their exact location in the body will depend upon the shapeof the particular padding reinforcement being used.

Referring again to Figure 1 of the drawings, numeral 20 representspadding inserted in body I5. When the box is used to display a ring, agroove ZI will be provided in the center of the padding. When used todisplay other jewelry the padding usually will be provided with anopening of the desired shapev to correspond with the particular jewelryto be displayed.

Figure 2 is a section taken along lines 2 2 of Figure 1. Cover I is in alowered position. Numeral 22 represents a cloth padding inserted in the.cover and. held in position by cardboard reinforcing 23.. Pin 3 is heldin place in raised member 5 by means of screw 4. When raising orlowering the cover, pin 3 rides along railing I5 provided in body I Il.The inside top of body I0 is curved inwardly at I6 so that the cover maybe closed by raising it and pivoting pin 3 about the turning point.Skirt 6,- is provided with raised members` 2,6 atboth sides of slot 9which, as hereinbeforeV set forth, serves to keep pin 5 under tensionwher; the cover is, closed. It will be noted that when pin; 5 is, at'turning point 25, the pin, is under extra tension (the combinedthickness of railing, body and` skirt being greatest at this point)so'that the coverv wil-l snap shut when this4 extra tension is relievedin closing the cover. Similarly the coverfwill snap open in the reverseoperation.

Padding 20 having groove 2|; is: held i-n place by cardboardreinforcing. 24. Because the pad'- ding is inserted into the bodyvbefore the skirt is attached, a considerable saving in time and expenseis effected. Firstly, the reinforcement for the paddingl is lessYcomplicated; secondly, it is easily insertedin the body; thirdly, it isnot glued or cemented in position; and f ourthly, no extra care need betaken. t0. hide the raw edges of the padding.. These; advantages areobtained because the openingl in the body is larger before the skirt isattached and also because the skirt hides the raw edges. andv holdsy thepadding in place.

Figure 3y is a back viewf of the box with cover I in a raised position,and illustratesV pin 3 in position in slot. lli.. Other members showninthis figure have been described heretofore, the same numerals beingassigned to the same parts, as has also been done in the description ofall of the figures.

I claim as my invention? l.V A box comprising, in combination, a bodyhaving sides, a frontV and. a'. back, a top opening, a slotted openingin said back andl raisedr railings on. the inside off said. backextending parallel to. said slotted opening, a cover having a raisedmember on the inside thereof inserted in said slotted" opening, ai pin.attached to said raised member and extending across said' railings, theclearance between the pin andthe inside of said cover being less thanthe thickness of said body and railing, whereby the ends of the pin arebent and the pinis under tension, and an inside cover comprising a flatframe-member attached. to said body and framingsaidY top opening.

2. A box comprising, in combination, a body having sides, a front andi aback, a top opening, a slotted opening in said' back and raised railingson the inside ofV said'l back extending parallel to said slottedopening, a cover having a raised member on the inside` thereof insertedinv said slotted opening, a pin attached to said' raised memberl and4ridingr along said railings, whereby said cover may be raised andlowered along the back of said body, the clearance between said pin andthe inside of said cover being less than the thickness of said body andrailing, whereby .-the ends of the pin are bent outwardly and the pin isunder tension, thereby holding said cover in any position at the back ofsaid body, and a skirt comprising a at frame to-p member and anoutwardly extending lower section adapted to flt on said body, saidskirt comprising both an inside cover for said body by framing said topopening and a front for said box.

3. In a box construction, a body having sides, a front and a back, a topopening, a slotted opening in said back, raised railings on the insideof LEONARD SOFO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France Dec. 12, 1931 Number

